The 31st Tangier Mediterranean Film Festival is gearing up to take place in Tangier, Morocco, from October 3-10, 2026. This cinematic event continues to solidify the city's position as a hub for dialogue between Mediterranean cinemas. The festival goes beyond film screenings and competitions, focusing on training, project development, criticism, professional meetings, and international cooperation. The event aims to bring together filmmakers, producers, and industry professionals from across the Mediterranean region.
The festival's program includes the return of "Tangier Workshops," a key initiative in its fourth edition, dedicated to developing film projects in the writing stage. Ten film projects have been selected, involving 11 filmmakers from Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia, France, and Morocco. These projects cover both fiction and documentary films. A committee of industry professionals chose the projects after reviewing the submitted files and screenplays.
The selected projects for the Tangier Workshops showcase a diverse range of voices and experiences. In the documentary category, projects include collaborations between Otman Slaïll and Julia Le Nouel, as well as projects by Faisal Bengroug, Zineb Chfchaouni Moussawi, and Ghina Daou. The fiction projects are led by names such as Brice Tan, Lina Arious, Osama Ossus, Reda Lahmouid, Yacine Idrissi, and Seba Yunes. This diversity highlights the festival's commitment to bringing together varied linguistic and cinematic experiences from across the Mediterranean.
The Tangier Workshops offer more than just financial support for script development. They provide selected projects with professional guidance in preparing pitch presentations and direct meetings with industry professionals in production and distribution. The projects compete before a professional committee, with prizes of 50,000 dirhams for the first prize, 40,000 dirhams for the second, and 30,000 dirhams for the third. The program also facilitates professional meetings between project owners and producers and distributors from both sides of the Mediterranean.
A specialized committee oversees the projects, comprising producer Karim Aïtouna, journalist Mohamed Reza, writer and political analyst Bachir Edkhil, and Italian actress and producer Pilar Saviedra Perrota. The committee's composition reflects a desire to combine production, media, cultural, and artistic expertise, allowing for a multifaceted evaluation of the projects. The official competition of the festival also features a diverse jury, chaired by Spanish actress Mónica López, which will evaluate the long films in competition.
The festival gives significant attention to film criticism through the "Mustapha Al Mesnawi Critics' Committee," which includes Moroccan journalist and critic Saïd Mzouari, Italian journalist and critic Alessandra Di Luca, and Spanish writer and journalist María Iglesias Real. This presence underscores the festival's commitment to critical analysis and the production of critical discourse on the showcased films. The event also honors notable figures in Mediterranean cinema, with six personalities set to be recognized.
The list of honorees includes Moroccan director and writer Hicham El Asri, Syrian actress Salafia Memaar, Italian director and writer Roberto Ando, Cypriot actress Bobi Aframs, Egyptian actress Hanan Motawe, and Spanish actress Marina Salas. This recognition acknowledges diverse artistic experiences that have contributed to the Mediterranean cinematic landscape. The festival also features collaborations, including with the Italian city of Matera, within the initiative "Matera and Tangier, Mediterranean Capitals of Culture and Dialogue 2026."
Key points
- The festival focuses on training, project development, and international cooperation.
- Ten film projects have been selected for the Tangier Workshops.
- The event honors notable figures in Mediterranean cinema.
